


A Man Who Never Would

by Hotspur



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Family, Gen, Scrapbooks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-27
Updated: 2013-09-27
Packaged: 2017-12-27 18:56:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/982430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hotspur/pseuds/Hotspur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jenny reminisces about her father with her own daughter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Man Who Never Would

"That's him, your grandad." Jenny says, pointing at a picture of a man in a long scarf. "My father. He's a good man. I first met him during a war."

"Who's your mum?" The girl next to her on the bed asks. The dark haired child with bright eyes cuddles up next to her blonde mother. 

Jenny flips through the scrapbook. "I don't have a mother," she says. "I wasn't just born. I was created."

"Like Luke?"

"Kind of. But this woman, this ginger here, she named me, and she and my dad were really close, so I guess she was my mum. Her name's Donna."

"Why does grandad look different in all the pictures?" The girl asks.

"He's a Time Lord. Like I am. When a Time Lord dies, he can become someone else. A new body."

"Have you ever died?" The girl asks.

Jenny nods. "I didn't have to fully regenerate. I still look like I did when I was born."

"When was the last time you saw your daddy?"

"Not since the war. He had to return to Earth, and I had my own journey. Daddy saved Earth, again. He's somewhere. I hope he's not alone."

"What about your mum? Donna?"

"She's gone too. He had to say goodbye to her. I found that out when I visited UNIT, where your daddy works." Jenny sighs. "It's just us now." She flips through her scrapbook. Pictures, articles, printouts, documents illegally Xeroxed at UNIT headquarters, information more willingly given to her by Captain Jack Harkness of Torchwood. Jenny had searched for every trace of her father- from his days in UNIT to his old friends. She'd tracked down Martha Jones-Smith, whom she'd known during the war with the Hath. Found a doctor named Grace Holloway in America. Researched the family of one James Robert McCrimmon in Scotland. She had ended up becoming good friends with Sarah Jane Smith and her son, Luke. And that was just her time on Earth. On other planets she had learned Venusiun Aikido and Circular Gallifreyan. All steps to find her father, with whom she had so much to do. 

"I hope you find grandad," her daughter says. "I like that picture. Who's she?" She's pointing at a photo of Jenny's father in a pinstripe suit, hugging a pretty blonde girl.

"Rose," Jenny says. "He loved her, then lost her. He dressed like that when I was born. He looked sadder though."

"What did he look like before you met him?"

Jenny flips over to the section reserved for pictures of her father, kept in chronological order.   
"First he looked like this," she pointed to an old man. "Then he looked a bit younger." The second picture was of a short man with a mop of hair and a bow tie. Next was a tall man with curly white hair in a frilly shirt and velvet suit. Fourth- tall again, Brown curls, impossibly long scarf. Then a subdued beige suit and blonde hair. Sixth, looking like he'd mugged a clown and stolen its Technicolor clothes. Seventh, short and smart looking, with an umbrella. The eighth picture had him in an Edwardian suit, with long hair and a gentle expression. Ninth, a leather jacket and very short hair. Tenth, the man she knew as her father. Finally, a newly affixed photo of a man in a tweed suit and bow tie.

"He looks really young," the girl says.

"He does. He's old, though." Jenny replies.

"How old?"

"Ancient. Ancient and forever."

"Why do people leave him?"

"Sometimes they have to. Or want to. Or they die. Adric did. Or they forget him. Donna did, her mind was wiped. So did Jamie and Zoe, they were made to forget by the Time Lords." Jenny explains.

"What happened to the Time Lords?" The bright-eyed girl asks.

"They all died in the Time War, except for the Master and your Grandad. The Master is gone now. I don't know what happened to Romana." Jenny says. "I'm a Time Lady, just like you."

"Does Grandad forget his friends?" The girl asks, staring at the picture of the youngest man, white hair and a grandfatherly demeanor, holding the lapels of his Victorian suit. 

"No, he never does. He remembers everyone and still loves them. He never stopped loving Donna, or Rose, or Jamie, or Ace, or Sarah, or Tegan, or Romana, or Grace... he doesn't forget. He never would. And he'll come back one day, Susan. He'll come back."


End file.
